Description:

• Liquid chromatography systems, such as the Äkta Xpress, integrate valves, pumps, detectors, and fraction collectors with a computer control system to enable automation of liquid chromatography experiments.
• These systems can be equipped with a variety of chromatography columns to separate molecules based on a range of physical and chemical properties (e.g., size, charge, ligand affinity).

Typical Uses:

• In biochemistry and molecular biology, liquid chromatography is commonly used to isolate specific biological macromolecules, especially proteins, from complex cellular samples.
• It enables the study of the properties and biochemical activity of these macromolecules in isolation from other surrounding molecules within a cell.

Description:

• A chemical fume hood maintains a constant, gentle airflow from the room into its interior.
• The air is then filtered and expelled outside the building.
• Ventilated cabinets below the hood provide safe storage for volatile and highly flammable liquids (e.g., organic solvents) and corrosive liquids (e.g., concentrated acids).

Typical Uses:

• Facilitates safe handling of chemicals that may release harmful fumes or dust.
• Commonly used when weighing dry chemical powders for solutions or pouring acrylamide gels for electrophoresis

Description:

• Real-time PCR machines can perform the heating and cooling cycles that enable exponential DNA copying via Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR).
• Unlike traditional PCR, in real-time PCR, the main interest lies in tracking the rate of the exponential DNA copying reaction, rather than the PCR products themselves.
• These machines are equipped with a multi-channel fluorescence detection system that measures the concentration of fluorescent molecules, which are released each time a DNA molecule is copied.

Typical Uses:

• Real-time PCR machines are employed in a wide range of experiments, with the two most popular uses being:
  • Determining an individual’s genotype at a specific location in their genome.
  • Measuring the concentration of a specific DNA or RNA sequence in a sample.

Description:

• This plate reader is fully equipped for absorbance, fluorescence, and luminescence measurements of samples, capable of handling both cuvettes and multiwell plates.
• It features monochromator-based optics, allowing freely selectable wavelengths over the UV-to-NIR range.
• Equipped with an injector, thermal regulation, and agitator hardware, it can handle complex measurement protocols.
• Computer control enables the instrument to run complex mixing and measurement sequences.

Good to Know:

• Plate readers like this one are used to automate optical measurements on liquid samples.
• Typical applications include checking cell growth, measuring enzymatic activity, and determining the concentration of specific chemicals in samples.

Description:

• PCR machines perform precise heating and cooling cycles required for the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
• This reaction enables the selective and exponential amplification (copying) of specific DNA sequences, even in the presence of various other DNA sequences

Typical Uses:

• PCR is used extensively in molecular biology and genetic engineering experiments.
• Common applications include detecting specific DNA sequences in a sample (e.g., checking for genetic modifications in organisms or identifying specific microorganisms).
• PCR is also used to generate DNA samples for transfer into other organisms.

Description:

• This is a large-capacity shaker specifically for shaking liquid cultures of microorganisms.
• The shaking platform can be outfitted with various clamps to hold flasks and sample tubes, ranging in size from a few milliliters to several liters.
• Both temperature and shaking speed can be adjusted over a wide range to support various growth conditions.

Typical Uses:

• This shaker is used to grow either large numbers or large volumes of liquid cultures containing microorganisms, such as bacteria (e.g., E. coli), yeast, or mycelium.

Description:

• The Institute of Molecular Systems Biology (IMSB) has granted us use of a shelf in one of the -80°C freezers within the institute’s freezer farm, located on the A-floor of the HPM building.

• Samples are stored in standard cardboard boxes and need clear labeling to indicate:
  • Potential hazards.
  • Owner identity.

Typical Uses:

• Properly frozen and stored at -80°C, bacteria, yeast cells, and mammalian cell lines can remain viable almost indefinitely.
• -80°C storage is also recommended for flash-frozen samples of purified proteins.

Description:

• Applying heat above 121°C for more than 20 minutes is a very effective sterilization method.
• Autoclaves use pressurized steam for sterilization, allowing efficient heat transfer and heating of water-based solutions beyond water’s boiling point.
• Note that pressurized steam and super-heated liquids can cause severe burns.
• A number of precautions are required to use an autoclave safely, and users must receive an introduction to safe use before operating it for the first time.

Typical Uses:

• Autoclaves are routinely used to sterilize both solid objects (e.g., glassware and plastic consumables) and aqueous solutions.
• This autoclave has specific features that make it especially effective for sterilizing large solution volumes and solids enclosed in bags.

Description:

• This is a high-precision balance for weighing moderate quantities (up to 200 grams) of samples with extremely high precision (± 0.01 mg).
• Other balances are available for larger quantities.

Typical Uses:

• The balance is typically used to weigh small quantities of dry chemicals for preparing solutions.
• Another use is measuring biomass from liquid cultures, where cells are captured through filtration, and the filters are then dried and weighed.

Description:

• The lab has a small centrifuge suitable for 1.5 ml “Eppendorf” tubes.
• Larger centrifuges, for sample volumes ranging from a few milliliters to liters, are available through the institute’s shared equipment pool.

Typical Uses:

• Centrifuges are used to separate solids (such as cells and aggregated macromolecules) that are finely dispersed in solutions or growth media from the surrounding liquids.

Description:

• The lab houses two large-capacity incubators that can be temperature-adjusted from room temperature to 100°C.

Typical Uses:

• The incubators are primarily used to grow bacteria and other microorganisms on agar plates at their optimal growth temperatures.
• Using dilute starter solutions allows individual cells to spread out on the agar plate, where each cell grows into a small colony visible to the naked eye.
• By counting the number of colonies, one can determine the number of individual cells initially present in the sample.

Description:

• The Zeiss AxioVert 35 is a high-quality, older model inverted microscope, designed with the objective below the sample stage to view samples from the bottom.
• It has four objectives with magnifications of 2.5x, 10x, 20x, and 32x.
• The microscope supports bright-field, phase-contrast, and GFP fluorescence modes (GFP fluorescence available only at 20x and 32x).
• An introduction is required before first-time use.

Typical Uses:

• In inverted microscopes, light passes from a light source positioned above the sample, through the sample, and into the objective below.
• This design works best with samples that are thin and transparent.
• Common applications include observing cells grown on the bottoms of cell-culture flasks and examining thin samples on microscope slides.